Wildcats pick up firsts, medals in relays

GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Rose Andrews carried the baton for Shoreham-Wading River on the opening leg of the 4×1600-meter relay that the Wildcats took first place in.

MARVIN GOLDBERG RELAYS

So, you think throwing the shot put is simple? Think again.

There is a lot more to throwing that large, metal ball than meets the eye. That is what Meghan Serdock quickly learned when she took up throwing events for Shoreham-Wading River’s girls track and field team last year. Imagine Serdock’s surprise when coach Paul Koretzki told her that there are no less than 62 body movements involved in throwing the shot put properly.

“The speed, the spin, where the foot’s got to go, is it turning, is it this, is it that?” Koretzki said. “The whole bit, 62 moves.”

Serdock said, “When he told me that, I was like, ‘Well, I got about three down, and 59 to go.’ ”

Don’t think there isn’t a purpose to each of those 62 moves, either. Some may be subtle, but they matter.

“They all really do make a big difference,” Serdock said. “You fix one thing, and it will go an extra foot.”

That may help explain Serdock’s rise as a thrower in the shot put as well as the discus.

Last year, Serdock’s best throws were 88 feet in the discus and about 26 feet in the shot put. This year the senior has reached 95 feet in the discus and 33 in the shot put, and she’s looking forward to a collegiate career competing for SUNY/Oneonta.

Serdock went undefeated in both events during the dual-meet season, which the Wildcats completed Wednesday with a 100-50 loss to rival Bayport-Blue Point. In finishing their League VII schedule with a 5-1 dual-meet record, the Wildcats hold a remarkable record of 264-14 (.950) since 1980 when the program began.

GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Shoreham-Wading River senior Meghan Serdock, who made big strides in the discus and shot put, will join SUNY/Oneonta’s team next year.

Serdock reached the state qualifying meet last year, but said she didn’t do much. She’s a better thrower this season, though.

“I worked all winter with the shot put and hit 30 by the end of the winter season, and discus just seemed to work recently,” she said.

Regarding the discus, she said: “I wanted to hit a hundred, and I’m really close. Who knows? I’m almost there.”

Serdock helped host Shoreham-Wading River to third-place finishes in both the discus and shot put in the 35th annual Marvin Goldberg Relays on Friday with respective throws of 89-8 and 31-11 1/2. Not too shabby.

The Wildcats also had throws of 53-5 from Emma Stoll and 45-0 from Natalie Lapadota in the discus and distances of 20-4 from Katie Dunn and 15-6 1/4 from Lapadota in the shot put.

Serdock has a background as a sprinter, and Koretzki said the explosiveness she has from sprinting has helped her as a thrower. “I think the quick feet create the torque,” he said. “That’s very important.”

Serdock is a former soccer player, but she has taken a liking to track and field’s throwing events. She watches videos of Olympic throwers to see what throws are supposed to look like.

“I love it,” she said. “I do.”

So, of the 62 components to the shot put, how many more does Serdock have to master?

“Probably about 50 still,” she said. “I have a lot to go.”

For many Suffolk County track and field athletes, their season concludes with the dual-meet season while the higher-caliber athletes have big county and state meets to look forward to. The Marvin Goldberg Relays give athletes such as Shoreham-Wading River’s Tara Sanders, who ran in the 4×100 relay, one last chance to compete in high school.

“For a lot of the kids, this is really their last competition,” Koretzki said. “Some of them aren’t going to make the counties. They might go to the freshman/sophomore meet or this could be the end.”

It’s also a chance to win medals. Altogether, 484 medals were presented to athletes from the 10 teams that competed, said Koretzki.

Additionally, there are also some unusual events that are rarely, if at all, seen anywhere else, such as the 4×100 shuttle hurdles, the 2xpole vault and the 4×1600 relay.

“I really like this meet just because it’s fun,” Shoreham-Wading River sophomore Rose Andrews said. “There’s a relay for everything.”

Andrews was part of a young foursome that took first place in the 4×1600 relay. She ran the opening leg and was followed by eighth-grader Alexandra Hays, sophomore Maddy Kelly and freshman Kaitlin Ohrtman as they turned in a winning time of 23 minutes 40.7 seconds. Comsewogue was second in 24:35.5.

Two Shoreham-Wading River pole vaulters, Megan Safranek and Amanda Welischar, both cleared 9 feet to give the Wildcats a winning total of 18-0 in the pole vault relay.

Similiar Articles

The anchor of Riverhead’s defense the past three seasons, Joscelin Morrow will continue her volleyball career starting next fall at Georgia Southern University, a Division I school. Morrow, a three-year varsity starter for the Blue Waves, was the defensive specialist who played libero. A versatile player who could contribute in all facets of the game, […]

The Shoreham-Wading River boys lacrosse team will dust of its pink jerseys April 11 for the seventh annual Lax-Out Cancer event. The Wildcats will host loval rival Miller Place at 2:30 p.m. A JV game will precede it at 11 a.m. The fundraising event has already generated more than $3,400, according to its website. The […]